Victoria Francés (born October 25, 1982) is a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complic ...

Life

Francés was born in

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

on October 25, 1982, though she spent part of her childhood in

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

. She returned to her hometown to earn her degree from the San Carlos School of

Fine Arts In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwor ...

, at the

Polytechnic University of Valencia The Technical University of Valencia ( ca-valencia, Universitat Politècnica de València, UPV; , es, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia) is a Spanish university located in Valencia, with a focus on science, technology, and arts. It was founde ...

. The first volume of the ''Favole'' trilogy was her first illustrated work to be published. Manifested throughout the entirety of the ''Favole'' trilogy (2004–07) are themes emerging from Dark Romanticism, highly influenced by both the

Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, Jame ...

and well-known works of

Gothic art Gothic art was a style of medieval art that developed in Northern France out of Romanesque art in the 12th century AD, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, and much of Northern, Southern and ...

. Her work received a number of awards and achieved great success in countries where it was published.

Dark Horse A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, or a contestant that on paper should be unlikely to succeed but yet still might. Origin Th ...

became interested in her work, and Francés has been published in North America. She made her first public appearance at the XXII Barcelona Comic Convention. Calendars featuring her artwork, as well as other promotional merchandise such as posters, puzzles, and

tarot cards The tarot (, first known as '' trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a pack of playing cards, used from at least the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play card games such as Tarocchini. From their Italian roots ...

. In 2007 the course of her artistic career took another direction with the publication of ''Arlene’s Heart'' (El Corazón de Arlene) by

Planeta DeAgostini Editorial Planeta-DeAgostini is a Spanish-Italian publisher and a subsidiary of Grupo Planeta and De Agostini specializing in collectable books, sold periodically in pieces through newsstands ( partworks). It has its headquarters in Barcelona.< ...

. In 2009, she published the first volume in her ''Misty Circus'' series (

Norma Editorial Norma Editorial is a Spanish comics publisher, with its headquarters in Barcelona.Home
Norma Editori ...

) based on the decadent world of the travelling circus, written for a younger audience. In the same year, ''Dark Sanctuary'' was published (Astiberri Ediciones), written in collaboration with '' Dark Sanctuary'', a “Dark Atmospheric” band from France. The second volume in the ''Misty Circus'' series is entitled ''The Night of the Witches'' (La Noche de las Brujas), published in 2010. In 2011, the Favole trilogy was re-edited to create one single volume entitled ''Integral Favole'' (Norma Editorial), a compilation of the three books in addition to unpublished sketches and illustrations. In 2012, ''Ocean Lament'' (El Lamento del Océano) was published, in which the author features a listless, spectral mermaid as the main protagonist.. Francés makes images for her

merchandise Merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of products to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to displaying products that are for sale in a creative way that entices customers to purchase more ...

, undertaking commissioned work and collaborating with other artists including the illustration “Hekate” for the album “Luna” for the German Pagan Folk band,

Faun The faun (, grc, φαῦνος, ''phaunos'', ) is a half- human and half-goat mythological creature appearing in Greek and Roman mythology. Originally fauns of Roman mythology were spirits (genii) of rustic places, lesser versions of their ...

, and the artwork for a project entitled "Naked Harp" of the Pagan Folk band,

Omnia Omnia may refer to: * Omnia (band), a pagan folk band from the Netherlands * Omnia (DJ) Evgeny Smirnov ( uk, Євген Смирнов), better known by his stage name Omnia, is a Ukrainian DJ and music producer, born May 18, 1987 in Donets ...

. At the end of 2014, Francés presented her new project called ''MandrakMoors'', in collaboration with the South Korean bjd doll company, Fairyland. For this project, the author set out to combine both the work of new character design, specifically of characters related to the world of

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have ...

and pagan traditions, with the subsequent creation of bjd dolls, in partnership with FairyLand.

Style

Francés and her popular style are inspired by the Gothic movement, and her work is considered a model to follow in terms of illustration within this genre: ghostly women wearing long dresses with vampirical attributes. Her illustrations tend to depict solitary characters, young women or couples in a romantic or melancholic atmosphere. She is influenced by a number of writers including

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...

Anne Rice Anne Rice (born Howard Allen Frances O'Brien; October 4, 1941 – December 11, 2021) was an American author of gothic fiction, erotic literature, and Christian literature. She was best known for her series of novels '' The Vampire Chronicles'' ...

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticism inherited fro ...

Bram Stoker Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish author who is celebrated for his 1897 Gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and busi ...

, as well as illustrators such as

Brian Froud Brian Froud (born 1947) is an English fantasy illustrator and conceptual designer. He is most widely known for his 1978 book ''Faeries'' with Alan Lee, and as the conceptual designer of the Jim Henson films '' The Dark Crystal'' (1982) and ' ...

Arthur Rackham Arthur Rackham (19 September 1867 – 6 September 1939) was an English book illustrator. He is recognised as one of the leading figures during the Golden Age of British book illustration. His work is noted for its robust pen and ink drawings, ...

Edmund Dulac Edmund Dulac (born Edmond Dulac; 22 October 1882 – 25 May 1953) was a French-British naturalised magazine illustrator, book illustrator and stamp designer. Born in Toulouse he studied law but later turned to the study of art at the École ...

or Luis Royo and bands like Dark Sanctuary, whom she worked with in 2009.

Bibliography

Favole Trilogy: * () ''Stone Tears'' (2004) Norma Editorial * () ''Set Me Free'' (2005) Norma Editorial * () ''Frozen Light'' (2006) Norma Editorial * () ''Angel Wings'' (2005) Norma Editorial * () ''Integral Favole'' (2011) Norma Editorial Other Published Work: * () ''Arlene’s Heart'' (2007) Planeta DeAgostini * () ''Misty Circus 1. Sasha, the Little Pierrot'' (2009) Norma Editorial * () ''Dark Sanctuary'' Book + CD Dark Sanctuary (2009) Astiberri Ediciones * () ''Misty Circus 2. The Night of the Witches'' (2010) Norma Editorial * () ''Ocean Lament'' (2012) Norma Editorial

References

External links

Victoria Francés Official Website.

Norma Editorial Victoria Francés Page.

Vídeo of Victoria Francés drawing a vampire.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frances, Victoria 1982 births Living people Technical University of Valencia alumni Spanish illustrators Spanish women illustrators Artists from the Valencian Community